More than three dozen mothers are wondering about their children’s place of residence. A mother told in a phone interview that she gave birth in September and the doctors said her baby was dead, but she never saw any evidence to prove it.
This one is not the first and only case in Yerevan / Tbilisi. Mothers are forced to carry their babies out, even when they want an abortion. Other mothers are being told their child was born ill or dead. These babies are likely to enter the black market and criminals bring them to another country for illegal adoption.
Between 2016 and 2018 more than 30 children had been sent to Italy, because their mothers were forced to give them up. But these mothers have the right to know what happened with their children. While they are worrying about their babies, detectives started to check adoptions by foreigners back from the year of 1991.
The Thomson Reuters Foundation is trying to find out what happened with these babies, but sadly, usually these families live in really poor condition and some people trick them into inter-country adoptions, while it should be a last option for a child who does not have parents at all.
Through the investigations five people are already had been arrested, including employees of a private maternity clinic and a public orphanage. The lawyer created a Facebook group, called ‘Armenian Mothers’, where mothers share their stories and work on to find out what happened with their child. Around 600 mothers contacted the lawyer to get help.
The most important thing is to know if their babies are alive and live somewhere, but it is also really important to find a way to strengthen their child protection system and give the ability to mothers to decide of their babies life.